Diamond on our Plate!

     
     
'While the price of a kilogram of chilli cost Rs. 40 to 50 in Phuntsholing, the price of a kilogram of chilli in Thimphu cost Nu. 300 to 400." A news reader in BBS reads. 

What do we learn from this?

The government banned the import of green chilli from Bengal in India in August. That was quite the move towards convincing people that vegetables with harmful pesticide is hazardous. And people understood that. Bravo! But it somehow added to the distress of the vegetable vendors in the country. It  added vile to their business. And somehow the ban was a boon for the local farmers. They got a pretty good market for their locally produced chilli. Justice to our own people! 

One of the many visions of our leaders is 'Self Sufficiency'  through organic farming. Our government and the relevant agencies are trying hard to make people understand that going organic is very crucial. And people seem to very much understand this. But at the same time, we feel that we are being robbed.

People were all smiles with the ban of green chilli from Bengal in India, excepting some disgruntle among the vendors. We got to eat our own farm produce, fresh and organic - no fear of pesticides. And this also created an idea to bring chaos and misunderstanding among our own people. From series of incidents we saw, we know one thing for sure that 'our people are opportunist!" In the sense that they make best use of unfavourable times. 

What we saw during the monsoon season was cabbies ferrying passengers with unreasonable fare - tripling the actual amount of fare. When that was the season our people needed them the most, a lot of them felt victim to the daylight robbery. Even RSTA had to penalize the ones caught. And now as the chilli season is about to meet its dreadful end, the price it fetches is skyrocketing - What nightmare is this?

Wait! Does this mean vendors fix their own price and we don't have anybody regulating them? The price of vegetable rising from 100/kg to 400/kg is not some jokes made by foolish people and consumed by foolish us! This is something to talk about! A lot has been talked and lot more frustration is being poured on this? These days whatever social media page you are on, it is always about the chilli price. When all of us are frustrated over this, there got to be something or somebody  talking on this. But sadly, we live in a society where  people don't bother much. 

But this is killing the commoner. Paying 400 for a kg of chilli is great deal for them and is beyond their capacity. 

However Agriculture department is exploring new market in Darjeeling and Sikkim in India to import green chilli, but what if the same fate is met? I guess we must not mind paying more or totally cut chilli out of the meals. 

         And amidst these misfortunes and hard times, we - the commoner always wait for better!
       

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